<p>I know about the requirement to apply and the risk about it but will it help with my college application and is it really worth it? By worth it, I mean really worth it. </p>
<p>A few thing about me is that I am a freshman in high school with no skills in speaking Japanese. I want to go to Japan because I want to learn about their technology and such. I am asian with a overprotective mom so that's why I want to know if it is really worth it and will it help with my college application. I might move next school year and most school in Sacramento don't offer Japanese. I don't want to wait until college because I want as many path open when I finish high school.</p>
<p>So should I or should I not do study abroad during high school? Also if you know any good Japanese classes or app, please tell me. Sorry if this is confusing, this is my first time doing this.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would help that much. It may be something interesting that few students have, but not many students have the opportunity to travel abroad due to the immense costs. I would do it only if you think you would enjoy it, not for college application purposes (obviously if your parents can easily afford it). Otherwise, don’t worry about it. </p>
<p>It really depends on how long you’re there for and for what reason. If you’re taking college courses, you’d have to pay the tuition prices. If you’re just visiting, you aren’t really studying abroad. A summer program may be a few grand, while a full year of tuition and living expenses could be 10-20k. </p>
<p>If your family can afford it with ease, go ahead. It would let you see other cultures other than your own, but it really wouldn’t help that much as far as the college admission process goes. </p>
<p>Regarding whether it would help your college applic, it would depend on what you did while abroad. (One of the most boring essays, college admissions officers say, is “I travelled abroad and it was so different”). If you take a year and learn a lot of the language, which is what you want to study at University, and get involved with, say, some researchers, sure it could help. But it will be expensive. You might consider doing an intensive language program over the summer, they have them in the US (there was one at Middlebury COllege).</p>
<p>I am curious about your interest In technology and Japan. After studying science policy in university, I actually went there in 1990 - at the end of Japan’s heyday - for the same purpose and was a reporter on the subject. What I found was that academics (and many journalists) were laughably wrong in what they wrote about Japan’s business and government technology policies. Indeed, I made my living debunking the nonsense in such books as “Japan as Number 1”. I just wanted to caution you about your idea of Japan. I also recently returned for work and found almost nothing had changed, except perhaps that the Japanese had accepted their obscurity in the wake of a 20-some year recession.</p>
<p>To add on to what was said before, you would need to do some research/take some courses for it to be worthwhile as far as the college admissions process. But… that’s readily available here in the US. There are plenty of programs at every local university that can give you these opportunities for free (or room and board if you choose to live on campus). That may be the better choice if you’re looking to increase your resume while also increasing your knowledge.</p>
<p>As someone who has studied abroad in both HS and college, I’d say go for it. There are a lot of organizations that give HS students a chance to study abroad on full scholarships, and a majority of these scholarships are for students who want to go to Japan. I lived with a host family during my HS exchange and still keep in touch with them very much. Whether or not it “helps” your application depends on how you portray your experience in your essays. </p>
<p>If you’re looking to learn about a new culture and language, then study abroad is worth it. If you are looking at study abroad as a way to pad your application, then I would not recommend doing it. Honestly, if you’re just looking to get better at Japanese, you should just do intensive language programs here or abroad. There are a ton of scholarships to fully fund those as well. </p>
<p>P.S. What alcibiade said about Japan and technology is absolutely correct. </p>
<p>Good luck and feel free to PM me for more information on study abroad scholarships and programs! :)</p>
<p>Not as many students study abroad in high school as used to – I think it does stand out on a college application. That said, I think if you are thinking about it from a college perspective, they would probably prefer that you go someplace really out of your comfort zone (so… you are of Japanese descent – go someplace non-Asian…). Look into studying abroad through Rotary, they have programs and I think the cost may be relatively low.</p>
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